Very Basic Beginner - Creating Text
Photoshop is an incredible program used for creating graphics, re-touching and resizing photographs, and even creating full websites and templates. It is an intimidating program to look at first glance but once you understand a few basics it is really a fun program to use and to get around.
I'd like to do a series of tutorials starting with beginner level to help some of you understand the basics and to find your way around the program a little easier. Most of the focus in the tutorials will be based on creating signature pictures as this would probably be the reason some would want to start fooling with photoshop to begin with.
Photoshop is a rather expensive program but as you get more in tune with the program and realize the capabilities the price is well worth it as the possibilities are endless. You can visit adobe.com and download the latest CS5 version demo with limited time and user capabilities. There are also older versions that are available that are now considered shareware where the options are open and the time limits removed but with no support or update abilities until the purchase is made. Even older versions such as Photoshop 7 are still going for upwards of $700.
As I mentioned, feel free to visit adobe and get a trial but here is a link to photoshop 7 shareware to get you started if you don't have a copy to work with but want to test the waters.
Code:
http://www.brothersoft.com/adobe-photoshop-59748.html
Ok, lets start this first tutorial with a basic creating of text and we will also play a little with giving it a cool 3D look.
1. Click File and New
2. A small window will open for you to setup the size and resolution of the image you want to create. What is resolution? Resolution is the image depth so to speak. The larger your resolution the more pixels per inch your image will hold. The higher the resolution the crisper and cleaner your image will result in. For any web based graphic (to post on a website etc) you can go with a smaller resolution. The best and standard resolution for any web graphic is 72 pixels/inch. For printed graphics a higher resolution is needed to avoid that pixelated fuzzy look. (For printed graphics use a resolution of 300 DPI for best results). I am often asked why my banners look so crisp, the resolution is one of the main keys.
So for this web graphic select the size you want and go with a resolution of 72 pixels/inch. I am going to use a dimension of 500x100 pixels. That is the allowed size for our signature files, so we will go with that.
http://i773.photobucket.com/albums/y...ickHunt/b1.jpg
CLICK FILE AND SAVE AS and find or create a folder to place your masterpiece in. (When creating anything...SAVE and SAVE OFTEN!!) You will be glad you did.
3. It is best to get into the habbit of doing each seperate item of your image on different layers. As you work on an image or graphic you may decide to change your mind or realize something your previously did doesn't jive with something you have done later. So now click on Layer and select New Layer. It is also a good to get in the habit of naming each layer so you can easily identify whatever layer needs attention. So before you click ok name the layer you are creating, I will call mine Text. NOTE: Notice down in the bottom right hand corner you have a Layers window and after you have created your Text layer, that window will display 2 layers now, Background and Text are the two that show. (if the layer window shown in the pic below doesn't appear on your layout click on "Window and then click Layers. The layers window is a key tool and we will work more with that later and in other tutorials.)
http://i773.photobucket.com/albums/y...ickHunt/b2.jpg
SAVE!!
4. Now that you have your text layer created go over to your toolbox on the left hand side of the screen and click on the Text Tool or the big "T" Once selected a sub control panel will appear at the top and there you can select what font you want to use and the size etc. I am going to use the ERAS Bold ITC font as it is a nice fat font to use where different effects really show up nice. Eras bold is also a standard font used in all windows versions. I also chose a font size of 72 pt.
*Side Note - When creating graphics that include text, a good assortment of fonts is a must. Google free fonts and several places to get fonts are available, my personal favorite is Fonts Open type. They have an enormous selection for free.
Code:
http://www.fontsopentype.com/
http://i773.photobucket.com/albums/y...ickHunt/b3.jpg
SAVE!!
5. Once you have selected which font and size you wish to use click anywhere on your canvas and type in which text you want to use. I used SATFIX.NET. It may not appear centered so you can do one of two things. Play with the justication settings to the right of where you selected your font and size or just go to the top of the toolbox on the left and select the Move Tool or just hit "V" on your keyboard. Now on your text click and hold and drag it to position.
Way to Go! you now have your text layer complete. SAVE!
From default it will appear as just black text. You can pre-determine the color ahead of time but I wanted to try and keep it simple to get you started and we can change the color coming up in the next few steps.
http://i773.photobucket.com/albums/y...ickHunt/b4.jpg
Let's make it look a little better now.
6. Take a look at the Layer window at the bottom right and make sure the Text layer is still hilighted. Now go to the top panel and select Layer then select the Layer Style drop box. Move your cursor down to COLOR OVERLAY and click. A small tool window will appear. The blend mode can stay at the default setting. If you click on the color box beside the blend mode (should be a black box) a color pallette will open and from there you can select whichever color you want your text to be. I just chose a nice blue. Don't click ok just yet.
http://i773.photobucket.com/albums/y...ickHunt/b5.jpg
SAVE!!
7. In your layer styles window you will notice other options you can use to improve the look of your text. Click and hold on the top of that layer styles window and drag it so you can see your text in the background. This way you will be able to see the changes you apply as you go. Lets start with a Drop Shadow. A drop shadow is going to give the text that 3D look we were seeking earlier. In the layer styles window menu on the left click on Drop Shadow. Now you will see a few settings we can play with to get the desired effect. Opacity (transparency level) is not crucial at this time but you may want to change it later. Default is 75% I will leave it there for now. You can also play with the distance you want the shadow to appear from your text and the spread etc. Again we can go into more detail in another tutorial to explain more about these features. Once again this tutorial is just to get you feeling your way around. So for now use these settings for drop shadow. Opacity 75%, Angle 120 degrees, Distance 10, Spread 0, Size 5. Your text should now look something like this:
http://i773.photobucket.com/albums/y...ickHunt/b6.jpg
Feel free to play around with the other Layer Style options. You can really come up with some neat looking stuff just by playing around and trying things. Just remember if you make a mistake you can always click edit/undo or use edit/step back to go back several changes ago. So you got nothing to lose, explore! Try creating more layers and coming up with different backgrounds and designs around the text etc.
http://i773.photobucket.com/albums/y...ickHunt/b7.jpg
I am not the greatest at making things clear sometimes, so if you have any questions feel free to ask. I simply have a passion which is creating things in photoshop so I want to share it with others as enthusiasts. I look forward to learning from this at the same time. There are a lot of members that have some great talents in our community and like any hobby. I encourage anyone who wants to share tricks and tips on photoshop or other graphic progs to jump right in and share your ideas.
In the next tutorial we will go through the steps of creating and storing layer styles. As I mentioned earlier I just wanted to start off with feeling your way around the program.
Hope you find this useful.
